All iPads External disk wifi and office files

[Cocorico]

Hello everyone


I would like to know if there are external hard drives wi-fi that can import and export through an Ipad not only photos of videos but also office files (Pages, Word, Excel, Numbers. ..)


Thank you

 

[TrueBlou]

There are a few on the market, but my recommendation would be to consider something like a Kingston MobileLite.

It at least let’s you connect any usb drive you already have, along with SD cards. Just gives you a bit more flexibility. There are some from other manufacturers, I want to say RavPower but I could be wrong on that.

But Buffalo, Sandisk and so on all make standalone devices which do what you’re asking too.

And yes, with my MobileLite for instance, I can transfer any file type back and forth with it.

 

[Cocorico]

Thanks Trueblou

Are you sure for Pages, Numbers, Word, Excel and so on files ?

 

[sparksd]

The RAVPower FileHub can be used for this. I reviewed some time back for performance -

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/new-ravpower-filehub-model-review.2128117/

 

[TrueBlou]

Thanks Trueblou

Are you sure for Pages, Numbers, Word, Excel and so on files ?

Yeah, you can transfer anything. Those details relate to what formats the Kingston app itself can natively open. For other formats, so long as you have an app installed that can use the file format, you can open it.

So, if for example you transferred a Microsoft Word document and had the MS Word app installed on your iPad / iPhone, you open it using that app. Then you can save it back to the MobileLite if you wish.

As a handy extra, while I'm here. The MobileLite also serves as a mobile WiFi router for sharing your hotspot, to even Ethernet if you're staying in a hotel. And if you're in a pinch, it's also an emergency backup battery. It's one of those devices I just wouldn't be without. (Or a similar device from another manufacturer.)

For example, here's a screen of some files I have in mine. And the Kingston app even lets me preview the .docx ones.

 

[sparksd]

There are a few on the market, but my recommendation would be to consider something like a Kingston MobileLite.

It at least let’s you connect any usb drive you already have, along with SD cards. Just gives you a bit more flexibility. There are some from other manufacturers, I want to say RavPower but I could be wrong on that.

But Buffalo, Sandisk and so on all make standalone devices which do what you’re asking too.

And yes, with my MobileLite for instance, I can transfer any file type back and forth with it.

In addition to the RAVPower devices, I also have the Kingston. I prefer the RAVPower because they can handle HDDs > 2Tb, where the Kingston is limited to 2TB.

 

[TrueBlou]

In addition to the RAVPower devices, I also have the Kingston. I prefer the RAVPower because they can handle HDDs > 2Tb, where the Kingston is limited to 2TB.

What generation of MobileLite do you have? I've had a 4TB attached to my G3 and didn't have a problem with it.

 

[sparksd]

What generation of MobileLite do you have? I've had a 4TB attached to my G3 and didn't have a problem with it.

It's the MLWG3 from 2016, with latest f/w. How is your drive formatted? My 4TB drives are NTFS - may have to be exFAT for the Kingston (RAVPower recognizes both).

 

[TrueBlou]

It's the MLWG3 from 2016, with latest f/w. How is your drive formatted? My 4TB drives are NTFS - may have to be exFAT for the Kingston (RAVPower recognizes both).

I tend to use exFAT if it’s a drive I’m sharing between Mac and Windows Maybe that had something to do with it.

I’ll double check at some point, getting access to my drives isn’t so easy just now as I’m refitting the office, so they’re not in the most accessible of places
[doublepost=1541876469][/doublepost]

It's the MLWG3 from 2016, with latest f/w. How is your drive formatted? My 4TB drives are NTFS - may have to be exFAT for the Kingston (RAVPower recognizes both).

While I’m here, which RAVPower one do you use, I may look into it for NTFS support. Never know when it’ll come in handy..... And I do like a new toy

 

[sparksd]

I tend to use exFAT if it’s a drive I’m sharing between Mac and Windows Maybe that had something to do with it.

I’ll double check at some point, getting access to my drives isn’t so easy just now as I’m refitting the office, so they’re not in the most accessible of places
[doublepost=1541876469][/doublepost]

While I’m here, which RAVPower one do you use, I may look into it for NTFS support. Never know when it’ll come in handy..... And I do like a new toy

I'll bet it is the format that is the issue. I don't think RAVPower even says it supports NTFS - I told their support about it and they only said thanks, we'll look into that.

See my review in the link above. I own both the older WD03 model and the newer model but found that the older version is faster, doesn't get hot, and has a larger battery. I'm hoping a f/w update improves the new model but I'm not holding my breath and I'll just use the older one.

These really are handy devices. Apps that support SMB connections - e.g., FileBrowser, File Explorer, nPlayer - can direct access the attached storage and can also be used as conduits for other apps (I can write from Lightroom through FileBrowser to the attached HDD). My only real gripe is the speed - these things need to get on board with USB3. In the end, I would prefer a direct wired connection but I don't see Apple ever allowing it.

Edit - one other element for the RAVPower - it was faster in transferring from an SD card to an HDD. From my RAVPower testing:

New FileHub: SD card -> HDD (using Copy command in FileHub app): 216 secs. (9,450,887 bytes/sec 9.01 MB/sec)
Old FileHub: SD card -> HDD (using Copy command in FileHub app): 156 secs (12.48 MB/sec)

The same test (using exFAT USB3 HDD) with Kingston - 265 secs.

 

[Cocorico]

Thank you Trueblou

The Kingstone seems to exist only in 64 GB.

Would you know another brand with the same possibilities "all files" that has a bigger size ?